Steelform Whanganui’s record book not only needs an edit, but a complete page rewrite, as the home side shattered previous victory milestones with a 91-7 destruction of Buller at Cooks Gardens on Saturday.

Scoring 15 tries and raising a half-century of points in the second half alone, Whanganui had selected a halves and outside backline combination built for speed, and with the weather playing its part as the possibility of showers gave way to warm sun, Whanganui’s ball runners cut through tacklers at will and looked sharp with finding support.

Player of the day flanker Josefa Namosimalua took a wrecking ball to the Buller midfield, either as the line breaker or the first support player backing up the break, running with the ball in one-hand and providing a succession of round-the-tackler offloads to set up tries, before fittingly dotting down himself on fulltime.

Always in the right place at the right time, dynamic centre Alekesio Vakarorogo scored four tries, just one shy of his own shared-Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship record of five.

One of his tries was literally from the second-half kickoff - taking the catch and running right through the whole Buller team to canter to the posts.

Two other records did tumble – Whanganui’s 91 points surpassed their previous highest score mark of 83, ironically also set against Buller in 2022 (83-7), while the 84 point winning margin eclipses their previous record of 77, raised against King Country back in 2017 (80-3).

There had been the real prospect of raising the full century if the goal-kicking on a windy afternoon had been a little more accurate – Whanganui having one frown when first-five Ethan Robinson was helped off in considerable pain, although thankfully it appears his foot injury won’t be as serious as first thought.

Fullback Tyler Rogers-Holden showed his utility value with Robinson’s departure, as in the absence of Dane Whale he slotted into first-receiver, ultimately finishing with an 18-point haul.

Having a league background, the dashes and flick offloads suited the likes of second-five Cyrus Tasi, winger Lafo Takiari Ah-Ching and his replacement Mitai Hemi, while on the other sideline the recently married Peceli Malanicagi celebrated his return by dashing away to place the ball in the corner twice.

It was a fitting occasion for the two starting props in Kamipeli Latu and Gabriel Hakaraia to play their 50th games for Whanganui, while apprentice forward Joseph Abernethy was a late inclusion on the bench, and when he took the field he became the first current Utiku Old Boys club player in over a generation to play First Class rugby.

Abernethy had his Utiku socks, as ‘Club Day’ at the ground saw all the Whanganui players wear their club colours on their feet.

Lock Peter Travis Hay-Horton made a welcome return from injury, while hooker Alesana Tofa got across to make some great chop tackles midfield, as after such an offence-dominated display it would be easy to discount how good Whanganui’s defence was.

For Buller, their try came from hooker Sione Lonitenisi in the first half for a temporary reprieve from the onslaught at 29-7, but even with the wind behind them in that half, Buller couldn’t deliver more, the result a disappointing way for acting skipper Stephen Crackett to mark his 75th game for the union.

“We’ve talked all week about putting in a good shift, we’ve had a couple of shaky games the last couple of games, where we leaked a few points, but the boys have been the ones scoring tries today, so we’ve got to be pretty happy with that,” said Whanganui captain Jamie Hughes.

The record victory moved Whanganui up to third spot on the points table, one behind their next opponent in North Island rivals Thames Valley, as the team prepares for what could prove a decisive fortnight for their Meads Cup playoffs run.

“We’ve got two tough away games coming up, so it’s good to get a good win at home before we get away on the road to a couple of Top 4 teams,” said Hughes.

For coach Jason Hamlin, the most important factor was the execution – he’d have happily won the game by 20 points less if the ball control and fundamentals were tracking in the right direction.

“When we played on top of them, and we’re just running hard and hitting big shoulders in space, we looked really good, and we just beat them round the corner.

“A couple of times there we were trying to be almost too pretty and throwing balls out the back, and it just wasn’t needed.

“[Criticism] sounds silly when its 91-7, but I think it’s just decision making stuff and just trying to keep on top of them about making good decisions, and by-and-large they did that today. 

“All their little micro skills were coming into play and we looked really good, obviously.

“They’re doing all the things we asked about, working hard, the line speed was reasonably good.”

Hamlin acknowledged the awesome performance of Namosimalua, who continues to grow in leaps and bounds in just his second Heartland season.

“Don’t show it on national TV, I don’t want him going anywhere, but people are going to snap him up in a heartbeat.

“Those boys have been playing well for us, they give us a touch of x-factor, and we’ve got enough capable guys around it that we can actually put them into the best position, they can showcase their skill, their talent.

“And then we’ve got workers that keep working on edges, keep the glue together, and that’s something we’ve been working on.

“Cyrus played well, may not have the time and space in another game, but that’s not his problem, he did what he was supposed to do today.

“I thought that was one of Lafo’s better efforts, and not just the fact of scoring tries – I think he was engaged more, busy more.

“Peceli again, just the class of him, and Tyler at the back, changing how well we are served there – we’re pretty lucky in that regard.”

Whanganui 91 (A Vakarorogo 4, P Malanicagi 2, T Rogers-Holden 2, L Ah-Ching, P Hay-Horton, K Elers-Green, M Hemi, D Horrocks, J Edwards, J Namosimalua tries; E Robinson 4 con, Rogers-Holden 4 con) bt Buller 7 (S Lonitenisi try; A Wells con). HT: 41-7.

By Jared Smith